In-form Offord 'playing with a smile on my face'

Offord has four league goals in two games for Linfield

Linfield's in-form striker Kieran Offord says the Blues fans will "see the best of him" this season after a fourth league goal in two games helped his side beat Cliftonville.

Offord, who netted an opening day hat-trick against Dungannon Swifts, followed that up with a sweetly struck shot against the Reds which proved to be the winner at Windsor Park.

The Scottish striker credits manager David Healy and a full pre-season at the club for his upturn in form after a difficult start following his January arrival from Crusaders.

"I'm enjoying my football, playing with a smile on my face, scoring goals and we're winning so I can't complain," he told BBC Sport NI.

"The fact I got a good pre-season under my belt [helped], I'm firing in goals and have confidence so I can thank the gaffer. I think the Linfield fans are going to see the best of me this season so hopefully that continues."

'He's hit the ground running'

The 21-year-old has also scored three goals in Linfield's European campaign, taking his tally to seven for the season, after only managing two goals in the second half of last season for the Blues.

His boss, former Northern Ireland striker Healy, also believes that a productive pre-season has accelerated Offord's progress after an initial bedding in period last season.

"I don't think anything has changed, when you come into a new club it takes a little bit of time to settle and at the time, it was probably the first time we did it - making strong investment in January and Kieran was part of that, him and Callum [Morrison]," Healy explained.

"[Signing in January] gave Kieran more time to see what the club is like, what I am like as a manager and what the group is like but most importantly what it is like to play here. He scored the winner against Larne which proved a big goal, he was more than part of it last year.

"This year was always going to be, come in in pre-season, you've been here three or four months, you know the expectation levels, hit the ground running and he's done that."

While not a direct replacement for talismanic Joel Cooper, who joined Coleraine in the summer after scoring 19 goals as Linfield won the league last year, Healy hopes Offord can become as important for the Blues this year.

"When a good player has left you always try to replace him with a good player. I don't think they're like for like, but he has started well, and he is playing in a partnership with Fitzy [Matthew Fitzpatrick] which is working out."